1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus cable and a lighting apparatus that uses the same, and particularly to a cable used in a lighting apparatus for illumination consisting of a plurality of light sources connected together, and the lighting apparatus that uses the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An illumination consisting of a plurality of LEDs connected together consumes less power and does not have the problem of burnout in comparison to an illumination consisting of the conventional electric bulbs, and is therefore used widely for outdoor illumination purposes. Such an illumination that is constituted from a plurality of LEDs connected with each other by flexible electric cables in either linear or network configuration, may be secured on a structure such as roadside tress or the wall of a building and then is lighted.
For connecting the plurality of LEDs, such a method is known as two electrically conducting terminals having pointed ends are pierced through a sheath that covers two power feeding conductors of positive and negative poles, so that the electrically conducting terminals are electrically connected to the power feeding conductor of positive and negative poles to supply power to the LEDs via the electrically conducting terminals (refer to, for example, Published Japanese Translation No. 2005-515481 of the PCT Application and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2004-103383). This method makes it possible to connect the LEDs to the power feeding conductors at any desired point without need to strip the sheath of the power feeding conductors or to solder the power feeding conductors and the electrically conducting terminals together.
A lighting system in which lighting module comprising LEDs and a controller is connected to a conduit that includes two power feeding conductors of positive and negative poles and one signal conductor is also known (refer to, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,777,891). Cutting contacts may be used to connect the lighting module, the power feeding conductors and the signal conductor. The cutting contacts allow it to penetrate into the conduit and electrically connect the power feeding conductors or the signal conductor, so as to supply electric power and signals to the lighting module via the cutting contacts. In the constitution described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,777,891, the conduit has a through hole formed to cut the signal conductor, and the cutting contacts are pierced to each end of the signal conductor that has been cut. This constitution enables electric signals sent to the signal conductor to propagate through the lighting module.
Such an illumination as described above requires it to connect positive electrode and negative electrode of the LED correctly to the power feeding conductors of positive and negative poles, respectively, when attaching a plurality of LEDs to one cable. It is also necessary to attach the plurality of LEDs to one cable at predetermined intervals. Moreover, it is also required to attach the LEDs efficiently in order to improve the productivity of manufacturing the illumination.
The technologies described in Published Japanese Translation No. 2005-515481 of the PCT Application and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) 2004-103383 involve the possibility of incorrectly connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the LED to the power feeding conductors, and these patents do not disclose any means for setting the distance between the LEDs to the predetermined interval. As a result, it takes extensive attention and labor to attach the LEDs at the predetermined intervals while ensuring the correct pole, and therefore it is difficult to improve the productivity.
The technology described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,777,891 involves not only the possibility of incorrectly connecting the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the LED to the power feeding conductors, but also it is highly probable that the cutting contacts may be incorrectly connected because there exist the cutting contact for feeding power and the cutting contact for sending signals in a mixed state. The lighting module may be easily positioned at the predetermined intervals by providing the lighting module with locating pins that enable it to fit into through holes formed on the signal conductor. However, orientation of the lighting module cannot be determined by the locating pins. As a result, great care is required when attaching the LEDs to ensure the correct pole, and therefore it is difficult to improve the productivity.